Hidden Love
by T-A-R21
Summary: [RenRuki]Well chapter four is in. I know, I know took me long enough...hehe. Let me all know what you think good or bad :
1. Chapter 1

Well this is it my first fanfic this is chapter one and I'm already working on chapter two, it should be coming soon.

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CHAPTER ONE

Renji, still carrying Rukia, was trying to get to safety as fast as he could, to get her out of harms way, and it wasn't until she held on to him a little tighter that he realized how in pain he was from is wounds given to him by Byakuya, but that wasn't really important right now, where they would hide was what was on his mind. Looking at the horizon is what made him remember a little cave he had found in the mountains; he had found it while training sometime ago and doubted anyone knew about it--- he himself had found it out of sheer dumb luck. As he swung his weight to get to a higher branch, Rukia held on to him a little tighter, as if afraid that she would fall or that he would let go of her. --_**Independent baka, don't even trust** **me**_** _to carry you_**_!--_ He thought.

"Renji? Where are we going?"

"In the mountains, I know a place where we'll be safe."

She wondered how far it was, she knew just from the way he was breathing that he was in pain, some of his wounds had started bleeding again, probably from all the running around and jumping. She was surprised that he didn't seem to mind carrying her and that made her feel uneasy.

"You're hurt, put me down! I can carry myself!" She regretted saying it in such worried tone, but she was worried and didn't want him getting more hurt than he already had been on her account.

"BAKA! It's nothing just a few scratches, anyways you would just slow us****down.****We're probably being followed; we're fugitives if you haven't noticed!"

"What? I'd slow us down; with the way you're breathing they don't need to run to****follow us they just need to listen to your breathing, MORON!" She hit him on his stomach forgetting for a second that he was cut. The pain made him lose his breath for a brief moment causing him to stop running.

"What're you stopping for we're probably being followed, if you haven't noticed we're fugitives!" But never the less she felt terrible to have hit him on his wound.

"SHUT UP RUKIA!"

"Temper, temper fukutaichou!"

Renji just suddenly let go of her and she fell on the ground, even though she was mostly angry at herself for having put her guard down, it didn't prevent her to take it all out on him for dropping her.

"Baka! You dropped me!" But she was more thinking along the lines of why did you let go of me

"Its dark, we'll rest here for tonight!" He had a little smirk on is face, proud to have caught her off guard.

"What... here?"

"Sorry oh noble one, maybe I should have asked the directions for "escaped prisoner" hotel!"

"How dare you childish, self absorbed ass! Fine, I get the rock. You can sleep in the mud".

She jumped on the rock and somewhat tried to get comfortable but with very little success. As for Renji, he gathered some leaves, and then put is black robe over them making a sort of little bed. He came to lay on it, but could see Rukia trying to get comfortable on the rock, obviously annoyed that she couldn't, he smirked and went towards her quietly. He startled her when he came to pick her up and she gave him a look that could easily be translated to _what the heck are you trying to do_, but before she could say it he told her to be quiet, took her in his arms and gently placed her on the little bed that he had made.

"Try to get some rest, Rukia."

"What about you Renji, aren't you tired."

"Well, someone's got to keep watch and since you'd have a hard time fighting off a weakling from the fourth squad, it'd better be me."

As he finished his sentence, he received a shower of rocks from Rukia along with a lot of insults.

"Ha! Some guard you are can't even fight off a few little rocks… I really feel safe****now." with her unmistakable tone of sarcasm.

The childish situation got them both laughing.

"Try to get some sleep; we still have some traveling to do".

"Hai! Good night Renji."

As time passed Renji was counting the stars to keep himself awake_--- **199, 200 201**, **20… damn where was I**_. -- He looked around, trying find where the noise that distracted him came from_ --**Rukia**_--. It had become colder without him noticing it, and she was trembling from the cold air of the night. He walked over and kneeled beside her to cover her up, he then went back to sit on the rock. He watched her sleep, rather stare at her sleep and this made him uncomfortable when he realized was doing so, as if he had caught himself feeling something he shouldn't.-- **_I wonder if she's dreaming_**--. The question was more to get his mind off of the way he felt more than anything else, and had very little effect.

Rukia woke up a bit disoriented, she looked around not quite sure of where she was. She saw Renji on the rock fast asleep he was shivering_. --**he's cold**--_, and she wondered why she wasn't, when she realized that he'd covered her up with his robe to keep her warm. It made her smile to know that he cared. She got up, took his robe and softly covered him with it. She looked at his grinning face; damn is he awake? Afraid that she would be caught caring for him, but no, he was only dreaming; Moron how can you smile at a time like this. But him smiling somewhat reassured her. She sat down beside him, looking at the sky thinking; --**_stupid Renji you're giving up everything you've worked so hard to achieve and for what? To_ _save me, why? Why would you do something stupid like that?_**_--_

The sun was starting to rise, she could see the sky getting lighter, she took back his robe and went back on the little makeshift bed, not wanting him to find out what she had done, almost as if she was scared he would figure out how she felt about him, and reject her feelings, or maybe she was more scared that he would share them, she wasn't quite sure.

"Damn I fell asleep…RUKIA! WAKE UP!" She jumped up startled by his loud tone of voice.

"You can't sleep all day too it's enough I had to watch you sleep all****night!"

"Sorry Renji." She said with a little smirk, to which Renji responded by smirking back.

"You should smile more often! It makes you look less ugly!"

"Hmmph, at least I don't have those eyebrows of yours!"

"What? What's wrong with my eyebrows?"

"It would take to long to explain and we're on the run remember!"

She then put her arms up for him to pick her up (a bit the way a young child would do) Renji smirked but instead grabbed her by the belt and put her over his shoulder, and started heading for the mountains.

"You IDIOT!"

"What?"

"Renji, by the way!"

"What?"

"Do you really think I'm ugly?"

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT?"

"Well, am I?"

"Are you what? Trying to avoid the question."

"Ugly!"

"No…you're not ugly!" She smiled and slightly blushed.

"Well, not for a boyish looking girl you're not!"

"DAMN YOU…"

"Stop kicking, you'll fall stupid."

"This place looks familiar didn't we just pass here?"

"What… do you what me to stop for directions?"

"Don't tell me you got us lost!"

As she said that Renji just let go of her but she was holding onto his belt, she laughed proud that she hadn't fell this time, but before she could say anything Renji untied his belt and she hit the ground once more.

"Ouch, what's wrong with you baka?"

"We're here!"

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I know it kind of ends abruptly but it continues in chapter two. Feel free to leave a review on thing that you might want to see improved in the chapters to come… thx


	2. Chapter 2

Well here is chapter two of my story. I know took a little while.

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CHAPTER TWO

She glanced at the surroundings and saw a small entrance in the mountains, she followed him into it. They slowly walked in the dark tunnel. She was just about to complain to him on how far they still had to go, when she noticed a dim light shining further ahead. They walked toward the light that got brighter and brighter the closer they got, blinding her for a few seconds when they had finally reached it. Once her eyes got used to the sudden change of lighting, she got a chance to admire where he had brought her. Although, she would always deny this even in the years to come, it was of a beauty she never thought she would see in her lifetime. It seemed as though a little piece of heaven had been trapped within this mountain. Beauty was an understatement of what her eyes where unveiling. The sun was shinning through an opening at the top of the mountain, letting in enough sunshine to allow vegetation to grow, but what caught her interest the most, was the water sneaking out of the rocks, creating a small waterfall that ended it's long and fluid journey into a little pond.

"So what do you think Rukia, impressed?"

"Hardly, I've seen nicer". However, the expression on her face easily gave the lie away.

"Oh yeah, it's true! You're from a great noble family you must have seen much nicer than this."

"I am not noble Renji", as the words slipped out, her head lowered, out of shame.

Renji saw the expression on her face change. He cursed himself, knowing fairly well he was the one responsible. He walked up behind her resting his large hands on her shoulders. Like a breeze, he whispered in her ear "Of course you are." She leaned her head to the side, trying to get a feel of the strong hand resting on her shoulder, making her feel safe, safer than she felt in the longest time. 

"Renji?"

"What is it Rukia?"

"Will you miss me?"

"Why would I?"He said jokingly.

He really hadn't thought about that. If Ichigo was to succeed, Rukia would surely follow him back to his world. The thought of never being able to see her again made his heart skip a beat. He would miss her, damn would he miss her. He was sure of that, more than anything.

"I …well…I'll miss you." said Rukia a little hesitantly.

"No you're not! You'll forget all about me before you know it." Renji replied gruffly.

"why…"

"What, it's true!"

"Ah… why do I bother, never mind."

She rushed away, looking back trying to get a reaction out of him. Only to find out that he was no longer behind her. She glanced forward, but she came face to face with his chest. He quickly put his arms around her to hold her, and at the same time prevent her from falling. Once their balance restored, he kneeled down and looked her in the eyes, as if searching into the deepest part of her soul. It made her slightly uncomfortable once she noticed the intrusion. She came to say his name, but he put his hand tenderly over her mouth, preventing her to so much as whisper.

"You know I'll miss you."

She smiled, wishing that he would hold her tight, and tell her everything was going to be fine, but she knew better. Even though, she would miss him as more than just a childhood friend, she doubted that he meant it in the same way. However, little that she knew, he did.

As he looked deep into her eyes, he wanted to hold her. Yet, he restrained himself, afraid that once she would be locked in his arms, he would not want to let her go, worse, perhaps she would decipher how he felt about her and push him away_. "So…"_ he thought,_ "better to have this friendship, than nothing at all"_. It seemed that the thought of never being able to know whether her feelings for him matched his for her, was less painful than never being able to have these rare moments of closeness that true and old friendships provided. Once his mind settled the long argument it was having with his heart, winning the round with its logic, he realized she was near the pond looking peacefully at the water. He wondered exactly how long he had been lost in his thoughts, annoyed that he hadn't felt her leave. He stared at her for a few moments before joining her near the water.

"You should go in… you smell bad. Wouldn't do you any harm." said Renji nonchalantly but with a bit of a smirk.

"What!… I don't smell bad, you're simply smelling YOURSELF!" Rukia shot back, feeling visibly insulted.

He turned around laughing, and now, seeing that neither one was looking at the other; they both took a quick sniff at their clothes, only to find out, that they did have a somewhat dreadful aroma attached to them. Rukia saw Renji moving from the corner of her eye. She turned around wondering what was going on, but before her sight reached its destination, she heard a big splash. Looking at the ground, she could see his clothes just lying there, and then turned her attention to the little pond only to quickly look away.

"Baka, what the hell do you think you're doing?" said Rukia disbelieving the scene she was witnessing.

"What? I'm just washing." Renji replied with the most careless attitude he could muster up. Visibly, he was taking a delight in seeing her like this.

"You're naked!" not quite sure how to react to his blatant… nakedness.

"Of course I am…I don't wash with my clothes on… Why do you?"

"No, but I'm here." covering her eyes so he didn't see her blush.

"Oh damn you are here... just noticed… When and how did you get here?" with a perplexed and innocent expression framing his face.

"YOU BROUGHT ME!" now glaring with the intensity of a thousand suns.

"I did?…humph you're lying, you sneaked here just to see me wash didn't ya!"

"And why would I want to do _something_ like that? I've seen you naked once before and you're hardly impressive!" shattering his ego right there on the spot.

"We were TEN!"

"Well, it's not like you've changed much since then…" this Rukia-coated comment caused him a facial expression comparable to one made by a man when kicked in the groins.

"Oh you little…you little …"

"Me little what? fukutaichou-dono" asked Rukia with a childish yet evil smile.

Acknowledging his defeat, he simply let himself sink to the bottom of the pond, evading further insults to his manhood.

Content with having got to his ego (which is not that hard, considering he can be so full of himself), Rukia quietly went and sat on a rock near his clothes facing in the opposite direction of the water. She could hear swimming around, part of her was curious and well…wanted to sneak a quick look, but she controlled herself, knowing she would get terribly embarrassed if he was to notice her peeking, so she ultimately decided against it. Suddenly she could hear a faint voice calling her name snapping her back to reality.

"What do you want?" She replied in a pissy tone.

"Could you hand me my clothes, there right there beside you."

"Do I look like your maid, if you want them come and get them."

"Oh come on Rukia… stop playing gimme my clothes."

"Nope" she calmly replied with an evil grin.

"Rukia, gimme my clothes…or I swear…"

"What? You swear what huh?... you're really not getting them from me now, _moron_."

"Fine… wait till I get you." With a threatening finger pointing at her.

He looked around, trying to find something to cover himself with, when he saw some huge leaves floating around on the water. He took a bundle of them and covered himself (well the important part of himself), and got out of the water.

Rukia upon hearing him come out promptly turned around only to see her long time friend standing there completely naked, except for two very intimate part of his body. She stared at him in complete disbelief for what seemed the longest time. Once she noticed, a blush spreading on his cheeks like wild fire because of the odd situation, well…she no longer could help it and burst out in laughter clutching her stomach. After her laughing subsided, she took his clothes and started heading in his direction, with an obvious wicked smile.

He looked at her very, _very_ unsure of what was happening, and confused on why she had waited until he had gone out of the water to finally decide to bring forth his clothes to him. Then, when only a few feet away, she stopped dead in her tracks glanced at him, and one very wide, creepy mischievous smile came over her face, and it _dawned_ on him.

"NO, Rukia, please don't even think about doing that to me."

"Ah, too late."

"DAMMIT"

Rukia started running away with his clothes, him desperately trying to catch up to her while clumsily maintaining his hold on the leaves covering his privates. After getting confident in the chase, she started to taunt him by stopping, letting him get considerably close to her and then start running away again.

Which only caused him to be more determined in catching up to her, and making her pay for the most embarrassing situation he had ever been in (well with her anyways). Now getting somewhat use to running while efficiently covering himself he almost doubled his speed, which she did _not_ notice. She got quite surprised when he came face to face with her, when she abruptly turned around to taunt him once more. He tried to avoid her, but there was not enough distance between them to allow such manoeuvre, causing them to fall to the ground from the force of the impact, _him on top of her. _

In complete and utter shock, she looked at Renji, now resting on top of her. Initially she wanted to beat the crap outta him, but once she saw him, eyes firmly shut, teeth clenched expecting the beating of a lifetime not mentioning the reddest blush she had ever seen, she could not help it, she simply burst out laughing.

Renji's eyes flew open at the sound; he looked at her very unsure, believing this might be a little torturous game he had never heard of. Once he saw there was no sign of malice in neither her facial expression nor her tone of voice, he calmed down. The sight of her heartfelt laugh created a wave of heat throughout his body and a smirk sneaked up to his lips before changing into a thunderous laugh in return.

After a few minutes, the laughing diminished. Not because the situation had lost its moment of hilarity but because their muscles had started to ache, and only once, they had completely stopped laughing that their pain start to dissipate.

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Chapter three is on its way…it's going to get progressively hotter as the chapters get released.

Enjoy….


	3. Chapter 3

Well that's it, chapter three is in, I know I said this one would be much longer, BUT it would of taken too long so I decided to make it in two chapters, so yeah you can expect a chapter four and eventually a chapter five. Hope you enjoy. ; )

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CHAPTER THREE

A solitary tear had slowly escaped her eye from all the laughing, tickling her cheek. She came to wipe it off, but was surprised to have found someone else's warmth on her face doing the motion for her. She slowly opened her eyes, only to be gazing at a very concentrated Renji. She closed her eyes without protest allowing him to finish the series of motions he had undertaken, taking a deep breath to enjoy this moment of tenderness that was so much out of character coming from him.

He wanted to get that tear off her face feeling that it did not belong there, that it was a sin for her eyes to let out such things. He found her most beautiful when she brought forth her strength, not that he considered this a weakness-----she was probably stronger than he was on so many different levels. But right now he was craving for her happiness. And only once all evidence of her tear had been eliminated, did he allow himself to shift his focus from her cheek to her eyes.

Rukia reopened her eyes when his hand abandoned her face, somewhat sad that it did not last longer. Now, they were both staring into each others eyes intensely. She was puzzled on the way he was looking at her, he appeared to be searching for something within her and she wondered what that might be, doubting she had anything worth his interest.

She was right about his searching, but was dead wrong about her not having anything of worth.

He was searching for a hint of love, a softness that would only belong to him, that was his and no one else's, not a type of love that is easily given away, _no_, he wanted the one love that could alter ones life, allowing endless possibilities, a love that many had died protecting and a remote few had succeeded in finding. He ultimately ended his search when he noticed that the expression on her face had become that of worry, attributing it to him spacing out.

Secretly, even perhaps from herself, she had wished numerous and countless times that he would tell her that over the years his feelings for her had changed, that their friendship was no longer enough and that he wanted more. As she was wishing it, his face started moving towards hers, for a second, it seemed that all her dreams and wishes were about to come into fruition, their lips were almost connected, when he instead went for her ear whispering hesitantly to her:

"Y-You know Rukia …you smell kinda awful."

"Soka… Now will you please get off of me." Saying this in the coldest and most emotionless fashion, a demeanour surely borrowed from Byakuya-sama, while pushing him off to break free.

"_What the hell …was meant to make her laugh, goddammit!_" he thought, realising he had somehow done something unforgivable_, "Damn those women and their complicated thought process."_ still feeling somewhat guilty for triggering this change.

"_What's wrong with me?" _Feeling so transparent and angry at her self to have wanted such an intimate embrace from him, and feeling so disappointed when she realised this was a one-sided wish. She left him standing there perplexed, and pondering on what had just happened. She felt a shameful yet vengeful satisfaction when she saw the sad expression on his face caused by her unusual behaviour.

He watched has she headed for the pond, and once there, turned around, hand on hip and glared at him. He could see she was still angry, but the pose she had, meant "_do_ _you mind beating it_." So without a word he simply went on his merry way, finding a large branch in a nearby tree to sit on and clear his mind.

She waited until he was perfectly settled, facing in the opposite direction before removing her clothing to take a soothing bath in the pond, still whispering insults and replaying little torture scenes in her mind, with him as the main character. She dipped her toes in the water testing the temperature before venturing into it slowly and carefully lest should she slip on a rock. But even with all her attention poured into not slipping, once her foot landed on a slimy rock, sure enough she fell in.

Renji upon hearing the splash turned to look (only out of concern…perverts…ok he wanted a peak too, HAPPY.) At this moment he realised how much her physique had changed. _"Damn, those robes really hide her_ _curves."_ He thought, now staring at her, jaw dropped, eyes popping out at the wonderful sight. He admired her smooth skin, _"her skin must feel like silky rose petals" _His analogy surprised him not because he couldn't be poetic and stuff but because it sounded like something Kyouraku Taichou, of the eight division might say. Afraid of becoming like that man, he made a mental note to maybe throw out that pink robe of his if he ever returned to Seireitei. Once the robe issue settled, he concentrated on a more important thing-----naked Rukia. Even though his subconscious was begging his mind to stop staring, knowing that if she was to notice the intrusion on her privacy she would kill him, it fell to deaf ears. His mind was _not_ paying attention; it was busy admiring her and did _not_ want to be bothered with such trivial things as death.

At first he could only see her back. She was standing, only her upper body was not submerged in the water. The form of her body was perfect. Water droplets were slowly descending down her smooth curves, which seemed to glow when the sunlight hit her. He could visualize himself running his hand down her back slowly. He was dreaming of what she felt like, the soft texture of her skin, the heat of her body----making his own body temperature rise. His heartbeat doubled when she turned sideways, now capable of seeing the form of her breasts. He noticed a little droplet of water making its way to her nipple which was hardened by the warm water being cooled down by the soft wind. Oh how he wished he could trade places with the wind that was caressing her skin ever so softly. He felt butterflies in his stomach when her movement hinted that she was turning his way, but before he could see her fully she had crossed her arms over her breasts and he could hear his name being called. "_Oh shiiit._" He desperately tried to look away, making it seem that she was not the object of his attention, but he lost his balance on the branch and fell on his back, creating a loud thump that resonated throughout the mountain.

She got out of the water using her robes as a towel, wrapping it around her and tucking the corner in so it would not come loose. Heading in his direction, she stopped once she got beside him. Looking down at him, she had quite a nice little grin perched on her face, he arched his brow, puzzled, he surely expected to be dead by now, which would not be a terrible fate considering how embarrassed he felt. Yep, she was grinning alright, grinning at the expression he had-----that of total amazement for the way a certain person looked naked and it flattered her know that person was her.

"Guess from the look on your face that I've changed since we were _ten_ huh?" her little grin getting somewhat wider.

Renji's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out from the comment she had just triumphantly thrown at him. He then realized the look he had on his face and mumbled "humph you're still a boyish looking girl to me." But that failed to even remotely convince either one. And Rukia just walked away content with his failure to convince her. Renji remained on the ground feeling as if he had just got into a fight with the crazed-maniac Zaraki Taichou.

Then, as if his body had been hit by a burst of energy, Renji stood up and started to run after Rukia trying to convince her it was a gross misunderstanding. She kept on walking although he was now in front of her walking backwards struggling to maintain his balance and wanting her to stop so he could explain himself.

"Ha! You actually thought that the expression on my face was because of you naked, _pff_! You're a funny one." Hand behind his head and trying not to trip over something.

"Really" Lowering her brow, obviously not believing him.

"Y-Yeah, I was just amazed that I didn't get hurt from such a high fall."

"What about the face you were making while _in_ the tree then?"

"Oh that, I was just looking at something near you… che, what gave you the crazy idea that I was looking at you." He stammered while trying to fight back the blush sneaking to his cheeks.

"Well isn't it obvious? So tell me then, _what_ was it you were looking at then?"

But in his search to make up a credible lie he lost his footing and tumbled backwards, dragging Rukia along with him. _She was now on top of him._ Immediately he noticed that her robe had gotten undone during the fall and he could now see and _feel_ the two bulges of flesh pressed onto his torso, his face slowly became red, not because he was embarrassed but because his mind was too busy registering the feeling of her on top off him and forgot to send the signal for him to inhale.

"Renji" She said loudly, snapping him back to reality.

"Huh?" Was all he managed to get out has he remembered to take a mouthful of air.

"Getting caught into a lie again aren't ya"

"What, you're heavier than you look, made it hard for me to breathe."

"Oh, I'm not referring to that" Followed with a little giggle.

Pausing to think for a second, he then caught on to what she was referring to. It would have appeared that this one _very particular_ body part of his had a mind of its own and got a funny reaction to the situation. Renji then got up so fast he nearly sent Rukia flying up into the air. He started pacing away hoping that this was just a bad dream. But Rukia was given a weapon of mass destruction and couldn't resist the urge to use it.

"Where are you going Fukutaichou-dono?" she asked in a singsong voice which clearly reflected her intentions to annoy him.

"Leave me alone Rukia."

"But what was that Fukutaichou-dono?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't feel like nothing to me Fukutaichou-sir"

"Will you stop following me?"

"Going to get rid of the problem, sir?"

"I have no idea what you're referring to." he mumbled under his breath.

"Oh really! I bet _someone_ does."

"Shut up" but then without warning he just stopped walking, as if remembering something he had long ago forgotten. He then turned around with a wicked smirk.

"By the way, I felt _two_ little someone's reaction on my chest maybe we should ask them what happened." He said in a proud tone.

With a mortified look on her face, she stopped following him and headed in the opposite direction. Renji now seeing the opportunity to return the favour, chased after her, taunting her like she had taunted him.

"What's wrong lost your tongue?"

"Shut up I got cold."

"Really, hum, my chest feels warm to me." gently stroking his chest to make his point.

"Damn you, leave me alone."

"What? Going to get rid of the problem are we?"

At this instant he could have sworn he saw a dark glow overcome her, she gave him such a glare that he thought it best to just drop it.

"Heh, yea, ok now I'll leave you a…alone heh." Hand rubbing the back of his neck and feeling somewhat unsafe.

"Good choice."

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OK, I figured I would give everyone a little preview of the next chapters.

Night will fall

Feelings will get known

Chapter five will be for a mature audience only

Yep you guessed it I am taking this story all the way to the finish line HAHAHAHAevil naughty laugh


	4. Chapter 4

OK…I was supposed to have this chapter done weeks ago gave myself a major ass whopping already but I got sick plus I had to work and in between that I got lazy, so here it is without further ado : )

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CHAPTER FOUR

Dusk had started to settle, and our two shinigamis were starting to feel the effects of the travelling and added chases and ultimately decided it might be time for a little shut eye. Renji felt secure that no one would find them. He was keeping his reiatsu as low as possible plus one would be more likely to find Kuchiki Taichou crying like a six year old girl than to find this place. The night was proving to be a chilly one, and the fact that Rukia's clothes were still slightly damp didn't help her when it came to keeping warm. Renji could see she was cold so he got up give her his robe. He knew she was awake, and even if, a little less than twenty-four hours ago he would have rather gotten hit by lightning than to let her know he cared, right now it seemed pointless.

"Here Rukia, take this."

"What about you? Aren't you cold?" She said this in a genuine worried tone.

"Nah, I'm alright."

"Really? Then why are you shivering?"

"Will you just take the damn thing!"

"Fine…what if we made a fire?"

"Moron, fire makes smoke; smoke leads your enemies to your whereabouts."

"Ok, do you have a better idea?"

It took him a while to utter what he was thinking, hesitant about the way she might react. "W-Well we…could lay down…t-together."

"Fuuu…kuuu…taiii…chouu! Can we do that?" mocking him yet again.

"Just to keep warm you freak!" He shouted in his defence.

"But sir what would people say?"

"There's no one here." He uttered back in a flat pitch.

"Isn't it against the rules to lay down with a subordinate…?"

"Pff…I was just saying, if you want to freeze all night be my guest."

"No, no it's fine with me fukutaichou-sir" She answered with her mocking tone never leaving her.

He got up to lay down with her, a bit hesitant on how. It took him a few failed attempts to figure it out. In the end he opted for the simplest position, her back pressed against his chest, her head resting on his arm and his head slightly leaning on hers. And at the end of the long mind-bending work-out he covered them with his robe.

"You are sooo warm fukutaicou-dono!" she started again. "You have sooo much muscle fukutaichou!"

"SHUT UP!" He shouted as loud as possible.

"You have such a strong voice Fukutaicho-sir."

"Rukia…stop it."

She did, not because he asked her, but because the heat from his body, did make her feel warm. She knew if she kept at it he might ultimately decide that his idea was a bad one ---and leave. After a while, they both started getting comfortable with the new found closeness and warmth, and well, in the end it was this little comfort part that would be responsible for the event about to unfold:

THE EVENT

She pressed her back against his chest wriggling her body, trying to get more comfortable than she already was. This is a simple non-intentional movement one does when very highly comfortable, like when you're laying in your bed comfy and you somehow try do dig your shape into the mattress even though it can't be done…well it was something like that …harmless right… WRONG. After a few wiggles she stopped, feeling a bulge where there should be no bulge…nah! Let me rephrase… she felt a major bulge where there was none only a few moments ago.

END OF THE EVENT

"FUU…KUU…TAII…CHOUU!"

"I-It's not what you think … it's my zanpakutou."

"Oh!"

Renji removed his zanpakutou placing it behind him and then repositioning himself the way he was.

"Renji?"

"What, _now_ Rukia?" He finally asked after a long and exasperated sigh.

Rukia sounding quite puzzled and unsure asked; "Renji...h-how many zanpakutou's do you have?"

"Well if you would stop wiggling."

"What does that have anything to d…Oh never mind. Guess me naked was a bit too much for ya"

Renji slowly got up and started walking away, humiliated, wishing he could turn to dust and get picked up by the wind. She was horribly right; seeing her naked was too much for him. Ever since that moment he couldn't get the image of her out of his head. It was driving him mad. Feelings he had long ago buried were starting to resurface and did not want to be silenced again, they wanted to speak up, and they wanted her to know--- they needed her to know. No longer were they able to live in a cage slowly fading in the darkness now that they had gotten a glimpse of her radiance--- they craved it.

He headed for the way out of the mountain. He wanted to escape, not escape her but the way he felt. There he was getting busted right and left on his feelings for her, and all he had got in return was teasing and smart remarks. If only she could give him a sign he could make sense of so he would know what to do next instead of acting like a love sick puppy. "_Leave_" he told himself "_leave dammit_" and was about to, but the closer he got to the exit the heavier his soul felt, so heavy that when only steps away his body would not let him go any further, afraid to crumble under the sheer pressure his spirit was delivering. It was holding him back, making him remember a day long ago where he had almost lost her. It was explaining to him why it could not allow his departure, hoping his mind would listen to the pleas, and that he would remember _that_ day, the day she had lowered her head and gently pushed his hand aside, the moment where everything between them had changed. He remembered the pain and regret he felt, and worst of all the guilt and consequences that letting her go had caused. At that moment he knew he couldn't leave. He had promised himself after that day that never again would he let her go and he did not desire to break that promise, how could he? So he did the only thing he could, he sat down near the exit, letting time pass.

She saw him heading in the direction of the exit. She had gone too far, and knew it. For a while she had feared he would abandon her like he once had. "_Why can't you tell him?_" she thought, knowing very well that her lack of response to his clumsy slip of the tongue was making him doubt her feeling towards him, confusing him to the point that leaving was becoming a brilliant option. "_But what if it's a trick?_" She shook that thought out of her mind; she knew it to be ridiculous. Still, he was asking her to destroy walls that she had created for her own survival, walls that were thick and could not be easily brought down, not when surrounded by so much doubt. What if he was to betray her again, he had done it once, when she had been adopted by Nii-sama. She had never forgiven him for letting her go so effortlessly. Over the years she had replayed that scene over and over in her mind, except in those scenes he would protest, fight and even beg for her to stay which she would, but that was not what had happened and she new the outcome far too well to deny it. He had reacted so predictably like himself putting on a fake smile and telling her how wonderful the news was, too proud to let her know what he felt; she had always resented him for that day. But now he was sitting on a rock, with _that_ look on his face, a look she once wore, long ago. Her heart ached at the sight, reminding her what that particular expression meant, the pain and weight it carried, the sinking felling that could be overwhelming on one's soul. Before she realized she had already started heading his way, guided by an invisible force that there was no point in resisting. So without a sound emitting from her steps, she walked up behind him and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me." He said while pushing her hand off. She barely recognized his voice, filled with too much pain to belong to him. She moved to face him, almost to reassure herself it was truly him that had spoken. Again she rested her hand on his shoulder. The contact made him twitch, as if her touch was causing his body tremendous pain, making it impossible for him to look at her in the eyes.

In a soft apologetic tone she spoke "Renji…I'm…" but before she could finish her sentence he tossed her hand off once more.

"I told you not to touch me…" She took a step back, like the words he had just spoken were daggers perforating her heart.

"But Renji, you don't understand…"

"NO! You don't seem to understand…get away from me!" His voice resonating with anger.

"I won't." That pushed him to his limit.

Without hesitation he unsheathed Zabimaru, and before she could begin to react she had the tip of his blade pressing against her throat, his eyes were focused on her with unspeakable rage, he was not playing around anymore, he was tired and truly wanted to be left alone. She carefully took a step back, her attention now drawn to the blade; cradling herself in her arms afraid of the man she trusted most---even loved.

He saw the fear in her eyes, the step back, her arms coming to rest on her shoulders to protect herself, protect herself from him. "Why does she fear me?" Becoming conscious of his action, disbelieving what he had just done. He felt has though someone had took over his body and made his hand take out his Zanpakutou and put it to her neck, but no, he was the culprit he alone had done this. Guilt took over his body; he let Zabimaru fall to the ground, sound of metal resonating stridently. He took a step in her direction, causing her to take one back, unsure of his intentions. He let himself fall to his knees, defeated by his own actions; he lowered his head out of shame, arms and hands resting limply like he was surrendering to her.

She kneeled in front of him knowing that he regretted his gesture terribly but that's the way he was, always acting on impulse. That's the way she remembered him. She stretched her right arm to cup his cheek and he leaned forward to receive her. Uncertain, she moved her arm back but he caught it in a fast gesture and held her wrist gently giving her a chance to escape him. When she didn't, he finished to motion for her. She was surprised of the smoothness of his skin and she curiously started exploring his face, softly gliding her fingers on the warm flesh, an exploration that ended by her tenderly playing with his hair.

The sensation overpowered him and he shyly leaned forward until his head rested on her legs, then he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly like she would disappear if he didn't. He took deep breaths, storing her fragrance in a secret part of his mind. He lifted is head getting a sense of comfort he felt he did not deserve. He rested his forehead on her chin, her breath teasing his skin making him slightly quiver. She cupped his chin trying to get him to look her in the eyes, he tried to avoid it, embarrassed by what he had done, she gently caressed the side of his face in a forgiving way, he wanted to break away unworthy of her forgiveness but she would not allow it. Strongly placing her hands on each sides of his face she forced his head closer to hers, connecting their foreheads and noses. He seized the sides of her face feeling the moisture of tears staining her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Renji…"

"No Rukia…I'm…"

"Let me finish" she said sternly. He loosened his grip on her face.

In a gentle yet slightly mocking tone she said "I'm sorry for you to have been cursed with a thought process that doesn't allow you to be able to read between the lines."

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CHAPTER FIVE will not be posted on because it will be rated NC-17 yes there will be a hot and heavy sex scene (baby making practice time) so it will be posted on livejournal Username T-A-R21 it might take a little while before I get chapter five out but I will ….so please just be patient.


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